Glass Panel Falls From Mag Mile Macy's, Hits Homeless Woman

Northbound lanes of North Michigan Avenue were closed for a short time as crews cleaned up the scene

Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

"They took down my information and made me leave. They told me I had to get away from here," said Allie Vladimiroff.

A young woman panhandling on Michigan Avenue said she was hit by glass when a large pane fell four stories from the facade of Water Tower Place on Thursday night.

"I don't know if, like, the whole window fell on my head or a part of it hit my head, but something hit my head and all the glass splattered everywhere. There were big chunks by me and then all the little stuff went into the street," said Allie Vladimiroff.

The glass panel crashed on the sidewalk below at the corner of East Pearson Street and North Michigan Avenue at around 9 p.m.

Vladimiroff said she's homeless and was on the sidewalk begging for money when the pane fell.

"I was just in shock. ... At first I thought it was ice," she recalled. "It hit my head. I had a headache all last night but that's about it. It wasn't anything major at all."

The northbound lanes of North Michigan Avenue were closed for a short time as crews cleaned up the scene. Engineers were also brought in to determine what caused the glass panel to fall.

Vladimiroff said she got little help from those who responded.

"They took down my information and made me leave. They told me I had to get away from here," she said.

Strong wind gusts wreaked havoc all over the downtown area, with several reports of street lights and signs crashing to the ground.